The Right Time
by Ms.LadyPen
Summary: For the man who'd borrowed him a little time from the clutches of death, Dumbledore devised a plan that would lend a little time to the said man, to enable or rather compel him, to want to live his life. Read to know, how Severus Snape ventures into many 'different times', on a journey to save himself. A time travel fanfic, hopefully a bit different. Eventually a SSHG/HGSS fanfic.
Disclaimer: All you recognise is not mine. Every speck of HP is JKR's and yes, she is the queen. I had to use few sentences from the HP books as they were; but as I said earlier, all that is HP is JKR's, and yes again, she is the queen! I am merely her devoted fan and writer of this fanfic, with no claims or rights.

Before you start reading: This fanfic is neither canon compliant nor set in an alternate universe. It dangles somewhere in-between.

 **Chapter One:**

Seated in his throne-like chair behind his desk in the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore popped a lemon drop into his mouth, while looking at his blackened and withered right hand. If not for his potions master's quick action of temporarily trapping the curse within the hand, he would have been already dead.

Severus had mentioned that the curse could not be halted and would spread, eventually. And, right now, Dumbledore could feel it. He could feel the curse spreading and he knew that his time was running out, fast. May be a few more days. If he was lucky, at least for a couple of weeks.

However, Dumbledore was happy that he could at least show Harry, the beginning of the long and hard path that the young boy had to travel. A path on which, if his theory was proved to be wrong, would lead the boy to his own end. But, for the greater good, he had to do what had to be done, however harsh it might be. Thinking of the harshness of the life, always makes him think about one man, whom he considers to be like his own son- Severus Snape.

According to Dumbledore, it was not only the fate that had dealt Severus with many harsh blows, his entire life. The Headmaster himself had borne, the burden and guilt, of further adding fuel to the already burning flames of Severus's conscience, by letting him drown in the pool of his own guilt. And, the said fuel being the poor man's love- always had been a black spot on the Headmaster's many spotted conscience.

"I know you think the same, Fawkes. I had not only allowed but also encouraged the poor man to never lick his wounds. In fact, I ensured that his wound stayed, fresh and open, for the past 16 years!" Dumbledore sadly said to his phoenix and the colourful bird trilled its consent.

"I always ask too much out of him. I secretly wish sometimes that he would crack under the pressure and finally say that he could not take my orders anymore. But, I know he wouldn't. That's the reason, it has to be him, Fawkes."

"With me gone, there would be none, he could turn to. Light would see him as an enemy and would try to claim his blood to avenge my death. Dark would never be his, for he had fortunately proved himself to be unworthy of dark, when he approached me for help to save his love, those 16 years ago. With the light and the dark as his enemies, he would have to take shelter from the shadows and he would be all alone. And, the reason for that would be me, and me alone."

I wish I could be there for him until the end. I wish that he would survive this war, that he would have an opportunity to finally lick his wounds, to find love, and to actually live his life. But, the irony is that he only wishes to die; he lives every day hopefully awaiting his death! And, that my dear Fawkes is what pains me!"

"I hope that within my little available time which Severus had borrowed for me from the death, I could convince him to want to live his life."

Suddenly a thought struck him. Or rather, it was the memory of an old insignificant event that struck him. But the only difference was that he now understood the significance of that odd event. "Maybe I should… or… maybe I did… Yes, Fawkes! That is it! He brought me some time from death and I'll get him some time to live. Maybe it's not his imagination after all. Now, I know for sure, that it was in fact, me and my meddling. It was me, my friend! It was me!" Dumbledore smiled happily and his eyes twinkled through his half-moon spectacles.

"Sherbet lemon" muttered the man in the black robes, scowling at the gargoyle, which started to spiral, unveiling the passage that leads to the Headmaster's Office.

"Ah, do take a seat Severus" the Headmaster gestured his dour potion master towards one of the chairs before his desk. "Lemon drop" he asked, offering the man, a bowl full of his favourite candy. As usual, the potion master declined the candy, with a sneer.

Pointing to the parchment that he was previously writing on, the Headmaster said cheerfully, "I just made a final few additions to my Will."

His temper suddenly flared, the potions master asked in a clipped tone, "Seeing that you've settled your pending deeds, would you like me to put an end to your merriment right now?" pointing his wand at the Headmaster.

The old man chuckled heartily and replied with his ever twinkling eyes, "No. Not yet. I've a few more… ah… pending deeds to attend to."

Sighing deeply, after observing a passing glimpse of self-loathing on the young man's face, which the skilled Occlumens had quickly covered, Dumbledore slowly said, "One of those deeds involves you, my boy."

Severus Snape suddenly froze for a second before resuming his cold demeanour. He always felt an unknown contentment whenever the old fool calls him 'my boy'. But it also torments him, because that particular endearing, was always followed by a discussion which he would prefer to avoid at any cost. And, this discussion often involved the one woman he ever loved, 'his Lily'.

Dumbledore continued "Severus, as I guess that the Ministry would prefer to not pass on, any of my personal belongings, to you, even if I had specifically mentioned them to do so in my Will."

Snape sardonically replied, "Believe me Dumbledore, when I say that it is entirely your fault, it is true. You could just let Draco kill you or you could happily jump off from one of the castle's towers while chewing your lemon drops."

"Ah, how I wish there would be a supply of lemon drops in the afterlife. Alas; but I say… that's the good part about death… it's the next great adventure to venture into, after relinquishing all my ties to this mortal world!" exclaimed Dumbledore.

"And, I would personally prefer, if it could be someone else who would relinquish your bloody mortal ties, for you to venture into your next great adventure." He angrily retorted with a sneer.

"Severus, we've already established that you would do as I asked you to, no matter how…"

"…I feel?" completed Severus Snape, glaring at the person, whom he thought as his mentor and a father figure.

Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, Severus. And, I am extremely sorry for having to put you through this hard task. But, as I mentioned earlier, I trust no one with my life… or… death. Anyways, the reason for which I called you is…" He pulled out a small box from the pocket of his purple robe. "…This."

Opening the box, the Headmaster showed Severus, a broken ring. The very broken ring that had tempted Dumbledore enough to ignore his senses and prompted him to don the curse laden ring on his finger. That very ring which set the Headmaster on the path of his approaching death. The ring was seated on a tiny velvet cushion, in the centre of the box. And, the stone embellishing the ring had a slight yet noticeable crack.

A humble request from the Author: Constructive and instructive feedback is always welcome. Do leave a review if you enjoy reading this fic; it cheers me up and nudges me to write more. However, no flames please. Also, I intend to upload a chapter (I know, my chapters are tiny. But please do bear with their tiny length; I am just a budding writer) at least once a week and would be immensely thrilled if I could manage to pull it off. Let's see!


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